Pivoted float actuated valve

ABSTRACT

A relatively rigid valve body adapted to be fixedly supported and have a source of fluid pressure connected thereto; a passage in the body connecting the source to an open-sided chamber in the body, the wall of the chamber having an annular groove around the inner end of the passage; a relatively rigid orifice body fixedly connected to the valve body and closing the open side of the chamber and having an annular groove in its inner face opposed to the groove in the wall of the chamber; an annular valve seat of relatively flexibly deformable material having its ends in sealed and supported engagement in the grooves of the valve body and orifice body, and having an integral flexible center member projecting into the interior of the annulus of the valve seat; the surface of the center member having a segmental convex spherical surface opposed to the inside of the orifice body, the orifice body having a concave surface located in coacting adjacent relation to the convex surface, with an orifice opening from the concave surface to a director passage formed in the orifice body and open to the exterior of the orifice body; and a relatively rigid actuating bar engaged in a hole extending from within the center member outwardly through the valve seat, the valve body having an opening formed therethrough passing the actuating bar in clearing relation and providing an unsupported, noncontacted, area on the outside of the valve seat surrounding the projecting end of the actuating bar; the outer end of the actuating bar being connected to a float arm having a float on its free end, and a biasing weight adjustable along its length.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Robert Jonatlmn Moore Grand Rapids,Mich. [211 App]. No. 655,235 [22] Filed July 21, 1967 [45] PatentedSept. 28, 1971 [73] Assignee Leigh Products, Inc.

Coopersville, Mich.

[541 PIVOTED FLOAT ACTUATED VALVE 7 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. (1 137/448, 251/298, 251/367 [51] Int. Cl ..Fl6k 31/22, Fl6k1116, 605d 9/02 [50] Field of Search ..137/329.05, 425, 435, 443, 448;119/78; 25 1/84, 298, 300, 303, 338, 367

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,096,068 7/1963 Claridge etal 137/422 437,914 10/1890 Campbell 251/338 X 1,762,348 6/1930 Petersen251/338 X 2,645,448 7/1953 Bugg 251/175 2,760,516 8/1956 Fogg et al.137/329.05 2,912,012 11/1959 Klingler 251/367 X 3,228,418 l/ 1966Rosback et al. 251/367 X Primary Examiner-William F. ODea ABSTRACT: Arelatively rigid valve body adapted to be fixedly supported and have asource of fluid pressure connected thereto; a passage in the bodyconnecting the source to an open-sided chamber in the body, the wall ofthe chamber having an annular groove around the inner end of thepassage; a relatively rigid orifice body fixedly connected to the valvebody and closing the open side of the chamber and having an annulargroove in its inner face opposed to the groove in the wall of thechamber; an annular valve seat of relatively flexibly deformablematerial having its ends in sealed and supported engagement in thegrooves of the valve body and orifice body, and having an integralflexible center member projecting into the interior of the annulus ofthe valve seat; the surface of the center member having a segmentalconvex spherical surface opposed to the inside of the orifice body, theorifice body having a concave surface located in coacting adjacentrelation to the convex surface, with an orifice opening from the concavesurface to a director passage formed in the orifice body and open to theexterior of the orifice body; and a relatively rigid actuating barengaged in a hole extending from within the center member outwardlythrough the valve seat, the valve body having an opening formedtherethrough passing the actuating bar in clearing relation andproviding an unsupported, noncontacted, area on the outside of the valveseat surrounding the projecting end of the actuating bar; the outer endof the actuating bar being connected to a float arm having a float onits free end, and a biasing weight adjustable along its length.

PIVO'IED FLOAT ACTUATED VALVE OUTLINE OF INVENTION The valve is designedespecially for use as a float-controlled valve for a liquid regulatedand delivered by the valve. The fixed part of the valve is rigid, withan inlet openingand an outlet orifice opening to a chamber within thefixed part. The surface of the chamber around the outlet orifice isconcave, and coacts with a convex surface on a movable seat or closuremember that is yieldably supported within the chamber. The movable seatis connected to be moved toward and away from the outlet orifice by oneend of a rigid actuating bar such as a float arm, that extends through awall or fixed part of the valve and which is yieldably supported formovement about a point eccentric to the outlet orifice.

This construction first results in the coacting sealing or closingsurfaces of the valve being located within the chamber of the valve;where they are not subjected to alternate wetting and drying. As aresult, there is less tendency for the valve to fail by reason ofaccumulation of mineral deposits from the liquid on the closing parts ofthe valve.

Secondly, the inlet pressure in the chamber of the valve acts on themovable seat, and presses the movable seat into closing engagement. As aresult, an increase in inlet pressure does not require a correspondingincrease in the buoyant force of a float to hold the valve closed. Theinlet pressure assists, rather than opposes, the action of the floattending to close the valve.

The particular form of the valve shown permits economical manufactureand assembly of the valve. By providing the interior movable seat orclosure member as an integral part of a flexible and deformable annularseal member, the passage through which the actuating bar passes into thechamber of the valve body is effectively sealed. At the same time, thetwo rigid parts of the valve body are sealed, and the pivot point forthe movable valve seat is effectively but yieldably supported.

The drawings, of which there are two sheets illustrate a preferred formof the valve adapted as a float-controlled valve.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the valve in installed position to controlthe level of liquid in a tank.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the valve. v

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken along theplane of the line 33 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the valve body.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the valve body.

FIG. 6 is an inside face view of the orifice body.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the orifice body.

FIG. 8 is a view of the inner or high-pressure side of the flexiblevalve seat member.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the valve seat member.

FIG. 10 is a view of the opposite side of the valve seat of FIG. 8.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the valve assembly indicated generally at 2consists of three parts; the valve body 4, the orifice body 6 and thevalve seat member 8. A strainer may or may not be used in the valve butis not shown as it constitutes no part of this invention. The valve body4 as illustrated in FIG. 3 is molded of a high-temperature,high-performance plastic, however, it should be apparent that the valvebody 4 could be of any suitable structural material including metal.

Valve body 4 has a threaded neck portion 12 to which a water pipe ortube may be attached. A bore 14 passes through the threaded portion 12and forms a passage through which water flows from the source to thechamber 16 within valve body 4. A groove 18 is provided in chamber 16and one edge 20 of the annular rim 22 of valve seat 8 fits into groove18. In addition to the annular rim 22, the valve seat 4 has an integralcantilevered center member 24. A blind hole 26 passes through the rim 22and into the center member 24. The purpose of the blind hole 26 is toreceive the end 28 of the float arm 30. The forward face 34 of centermember 24 is of spherical configuration. It should be understood thatvalve seat 4 is fabricated of a flexible, resilient material such asrubber,

neoprene, Buna N or any other suitable material. The spherical face 34is offset from the fixedly supported rim 22 by the flexible centermember 24.

The orifice body 6 fits inside bore 36 of valve body 4 and is held inplace by an adhesive at the joint 37. Any one of several means ofjoining the orifice body 6 to valve body 4 may be used includingmechanical fasteners. The orifice body thus forms a closure for the openside of the valve body to complete the chamber 16. Orifice body 6 has agroove 38 into which face 40 of the annular rim 18 fits. An innerprojection 42 of orifice body 6 has an orifice 44 which serves as apassage between the chamber 16 and the director passage 46. The innerface 45 of the projection 42, around the inner end of the orifice 44, isspherically concave to receive and coact with the surface 34. Theorifice body 6 is also made of high-temperature, high-performanceplastic. However, it too can be made of other materials.

Two cars 48 project from valve body 4 and serve as guides for the floatarm 30. The end 26 of the float arm projects through a hole 32 in thevalve body. The other end 50 of the downturned float arm 30 passesthrough a hole 52 in float 54. The float 54 is held on the float arm bymeans of the push nut 56.

A metal disc 58 is slidably mounted on float arm 30 by means of rubbergrommet 60. The friction between rubber grommet 60 and float arm 30 issuch as to assure that disc 58 is held in a fixed position on arm 30unless it is intentionally moved by the application of finger pressure.The purpose of disc 58 is to change the water level by changing thecenter of mass of the float arm 30 and float 54 combination about pivotpoint 62. The more distance between disc 58 and the pivot pointindicated at 62 at the upper edge of the valve seat 8 in FIG. 3, thehigher the water level.

Assuming valve 2 is mounted in the sidewall of a water pan, indicated bythe dotted lines in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a source of water has beenattached, the weight of float arm 30, disc 58, and float 54 acting aboutpivot point 62, causes the face 34 of center member 24 to move away fromthe inner face 45 and the orifice 44. Thus water flows from the sourcethrough bore 14, into chamber 16, around center member 24, throughorifice 44 and out director passage 46.

As the water level in the pan increases, float 54 rises and therebyexerts a moment around pivot point 62. End 28 of float arm 30 moves thecenter member 24 of valve seat 8. When center member 24 is moved intocontact with projection 42 of orifice body 6, the orifice 44 is sealedand the flow of water is interrupted. when the orifice 44 is sealed bycenter member 24 a differential pressure exists between chamber 16 andorifice 44. The pressure in chamber 16 is equal to the water source,line pressure and the pressure in orifice 44 is atmospheric pressure.This differential pressure creates a force against center member 24 ofthe valve seat 8 which in turn creates a tight seal or closure atorifice 44. If a leak should occur between the face 34 of center member24 and the projection 42, due to irregularities in face 34 or perhapsdue to a speck of dirt, the water level would continue to rise and themoment about pivot point 62 would increase. In other words, the shutoffforce is a combination of the moment about pivot point 62 due to theforce exerted by float 54 and the force exerted by the differentialpressure. The coacting closure surfaces 34 and 45 are submerged at alltimes and not subjected to alternate wetting and drying.

As the line pressure of the water source increases, the differentialpressure is increased and the center member 24 seals orifice 44 withgreater force.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A valve comprising a body having a horizontal inlet passage anddefining a chamber in aligned communication with said inlet passage,

a first vertical wall forming part of said chamber and defining anoutlet passage therefrom with a laterally facing outlet orifice at theinner end of the outlet passage,

a laterally movable seat positioned in said chamber and having a closuresurface opposed to said orifice,

a valve-actuating rod having a vertically extending inner end engagedwith said seat and a portion extending externally of said body and saidchamber,

a second upper wall of said valve body defining an opening that islarger than said actuating rod and through which said rod extends,

yieldably deformable means forming the sole support for said rod andsaid seat from said body and forming a closure for said opening in saidupper wall around said rod,

said deformable means being offset above said orifice and the opposedclosure surface on said seat,

and a laterally turned float supporting arm on the upper end of saidactuating rod,

said inlet passage being formed in an externally threaded mounting neckon said body.

2. A valve as defined in claim 1 in which said seat and said deformablemeans are formed as an integral unit.

3. A valve as defined in claim 2 in which said first wall is formedseparately from said body and secured in coacting relation thereto tocomplete said chamber.

4. A valve as defined in claim 3 in which said body and said first wallhave opposed annular grooves formed therein opening into said chamberaround said inlet and said outlet passage respectively,

the unit of said deformable means and said seat having oppositelyextending annular flanges received in supported and sealing relation insaid grooves. 5. A valve as defined in claim 4 in which said valve bodyis a cylindrical member which includes the upper wall,

and an integral end wall on said body in which said inlet passage isformed with one of said grooves opening inwardly of the chamber andextending around the inlet,

the unit of said deformable means being an annulus with its outersurface supported by the inside of the cylindrical member,

the seat portion of said unit being an integral projection extendingfrom the interior surface of said annulus and having a hole formedvertically through the upper side of the annulus and into said seatportion and receiving said valve actuating rod.

6. A valve as defined in claim 5 in which said first wall has a concavesurface formed thereon in surrounding relation to the end of said outletorifice,

said seat being convexly shaped and receivable in the concavity of saidconcave surface.

7. A valve as defined in claim 6 in which said surface of said seat isformed on the yieldable material of said unit.

1. A valve comprising a body having a horizontal inlet passage anddefining a chamber in aligned communication with said inlet passage, afirst vertical wall forming part of said chamber and defining an outletpassage therefrom with a laterally facing outlet orifice at the innerend of the outlet passage, a laterally movable seat positioned in saidchamber and having a closure surface opposed to said orifice, avalve-actuating rod having a vertically extending inner end engaged withsaid seat and a portion extending externally of said body and saidchamber, a second upper wall of said valve body defining an opening thatis larger than said actuating rod and through which said rod extends,yieldably deformable means forming the sole support for said rod andsaid seat from said body and forming a closure for said opening in saidupper wall around said rod, said deformable means being offset abovesaid orifice and the opposed closure surface on said seat, and alaterally turned float supporting arm on the upper end of said actuatingrod, said inlet passage being formed in an externally threaded mountingneck on said body.
 2. A valve as defined in claim 1 in which said seatand said deformable means are formed as an integral unit.
 3. A valve asdefined in claim 2 in which said first wall is formed separately fromsaid body and secured in coacting relation thereto to complete saidchamber.
 4. A valve as defined in claim 3 in which said body and saidfirst wall have opposed annular grooves formed therein opening into saidchamber around said inlet and said outlet passage respectively, the unitof said deformable means and said seat having oppositely extendingannular flanges received in supported and sealing relation iN saidgrooves.
 5. A valve as defined in claim 4 in which said valve body is acylindrical member which includes the upper wall, and an integral endwall on said body in which said inlet passage is formed with one of saidgrooves opening inwardly of the chamber and extending around the inlet,the unit of said deformable means being an annulus with its outersurface supported by the inside of the cylindrical member, the seatportion of said unit being an integral projection extending from theinterior surface of said annulus and having a hole formed verticallythrough the upper side of the annulus and into said seat portion andreceiving said valve actuating rod.
 6. A valve as defined in claim 5 inwhich said first wall has a concave surface formed thereon insurrounding relation to the end of said outlet orifice, said seat beingconvexly shaped and receivable in the concavity of said concave surface.7. A valve as defined in claim 6 in which said surface of said seat isformed on the yieldable material of said unit.